Greg Wise reads Pierre Boulle's chilling, iconic novel about a nightmare world where apes rule over men. In a spaceship that can travel at the speed of light, Ulysse, a journalist, sets off from Earth for the nearest solar system. He finds there a planet which resembles his own, except that on Soror humans behave like animals and are hunted by a civilised race of primates.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: The Official Movie Novelization

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

Logan’s Search

Logan is running with the fate of the world in his hands. Earth is free and at peace at last. But not the Earth on which Logan stands. For him a nightmare has just begun. In the 23rd century on Parallel Earth, your 21st birthday is your Lastday. Parallel Earth is a dazzling paradise of artificial delight - of instant pleasure and infinite joy. Here, in a terrifying computerized society controlled by ruthless police assassins, is the world that Logan once destroyed. Now his fate is to live that horror once again.

Logan's World

The last battle burned the planet to a charred husk, and civilization is nothing more than a few scattered tribes...like the surviving corps of elite killers who served the old dictatorship....or the sadistic bands of motorcycle hoods, prowling the ruins for victims...or the slavers, mutants and madmen preying on those who hope to rebuild the future. Only a brave handful like Logan and his family, who are the hunted in a world of vicious predators, hope to save the strange and bloody land that is Logan's World.

Logan's Run

It's the 23rd Century and at age 21... your life is over! Logan-6 has been trained to kill; born and bred from conception to be the best of the best. But his time is short and before his life ends he's got one final mission: Find and destroy Sanctuary, a fabled haven for those that chose to defy the system. But when Logan meets and falls in love with Jessica, he begins to question the very system he swore to protect and soon they're both running for their lives.

Merian C. Cooper's King Kong

A hulking freighter waits at a darkened pier. Aboard, filmmaker Carl Denham prepares for a strange voyage to a distant island, an island where he hopes to make the most exciting movie of all time. What waits at the end of the journey is Kong.

From the Earth to the Moon

The War of the Rebellion is over, and the members of the American Gun Club, bored with inactivity, look around for a new project. At last they have it: "We will build the greatest projectile the world has ever seen and make the moon our 38th state!" When From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, it was regarded as pure fantasy. Who could imagine a rocket that would carry men and animals through space?

Who Goes There?: The Novella That Formed the Basis of 'THE THING'

Who Goes There?, the novella that formed the basis of the film The Thing, is the John W. Campbell classic about an antarctic research camp that discovers and thaws the ancient body of a crash-landed alien.

2001: A Space Odyssey

It has been 40 years since the publication of this classic science-fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

West of Eden

Sixty-five million years ago, a disastrous cataclysm eliminated three quarters of all life on Earth. Overnight, the age of dinosaurs ended. The age of mammals had begun. But what if history had happened differently? What if the reptiles had survived to evolve into intelligent life? In West of Eden, best-selling author Harry Harrison has created a rich, dramatic saga of a world where the descendants of the dinosaurs struggled with a clan of humans in a battle for survival.

Psycho

It was a dark and stormy night when Mary Crane glimpsed the unlit neon sign announcing the vacancy at the Bates Motel. Exhausted, lost, and at the end of her rope, she was eager for a hot shower and a bed for the night. Her room was musty, but clean, and the manager seemed nice, if a little odd.

Jaws

Jaws is the classic, blockbuster thriller that inspired the three-time Academy Award-winning Steven Spielberg movie and made millions of beachgoers afraid to go into the water. Experience the thrill of helpless horror again - or for the first time! Jaws was #48 in the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies, and the film earned the coveted #1 spot on the Bravo network's 100 Scariest Movie Moments countdown.

Make Room! Make Room!

In a New York City groaning under the burden of 35 million inhabitants, detective Andy Rusch is engaged in a desperate and lonely hunt for a killer everyone has forgotten. For even in a world such as this, a policeman can find himself utterly alone.

The Sicilian

Michael Corleone is returning to the U.S. after the two-year exile to Sicily in which listeners left him in The Godfather. But he is ordered to bring with him the young Sicilian bandit, Salvatore Guiliano, who is the unofficial ruler of northwestern Sicily. In his fight "to make Sicilians free people", the young folk hero, based on the real-life Giuliano of the 1940s, has made both the police and the Mafia his enemies.

Minority Report and Other Stories (Unabridged Stories)

Viewed by many as the greatest science fiction writer on any planet, Philip K. Dick has written some of the most intriguing, original, and thought-provoking fiction of our time. This collection includes "The Minority Report," "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," "Paycheck," "Second Variety," and "The Eyes Have It."

The Invisible Man

On a freezing February day, a stranger emerges from out of the gray to request a room at a local provincial inn. Who is this out-of-season traveler? More confounding is the thick mask of bandages obscuring his face. Why does he disguise himself in this manner and keep himself hidden away in his room? Aroused by trepidation and curiosity, the local villagers bring it upon themselves to find the answers.

MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors

Before the movie, this is the novel that gave life to Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John, Hot Lips Houlihan, Frank Burns, Radar O'Reilly, and the rest of the gang that made the 4077th MASH like no other place in Korea or on earth. The doctors who worked in the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) during the Korean War were well trained but, like most soldiers sent to fight a war, too young for the job. In the words of the author, "a few flipped their lids, but most of them just raised hell, in a variety of ways and degrees."

The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition

Four decades after it first shook the nation, then the world, William Peter Blatty's thrilling masterwork of faith and demonic possession returns in an even more powerful form. Raw and profane, shocking and blood-chilling, it remains a modern parable of good and evil and perhaps the most terrifying novel ever written.

Publisher's Summary

Greg Wise reads Pierre Boulle's chilling, iconic novel about a nightmare world where apes rule over men. In a spaceship that can travel at the speed of light, Ulysse, a journalist, sets off from Earth for the nearest solar system. He finds there a planet which resembles his own, except that on Soror humans behave like animals and are hunted by a civilised race of primates. Captured and sent to a research facility, Ulysse must convince the apes of their mutual origins. But such revelations have always been greeted by prejudice and fear...

The inspiration for several acclaimed cult films, Planet of the Apes is both a gripping, disturbing fable and a classic of science fiction.

This was an excellent book, even if you've enjoyed the original film (and who hasn't?). You can clearly see the inspiration for the classic movie, but the book moves in a slightly different direction. You will find the principle characters of Nova, Cornelius, Zira, and Dr. Zaius. Beyond that, I won't divulge any specifics about the story, as it has its own little twists and turns. For the Planet of the Apes completist, I say quit monkeying around and listen to this one!

I love this book so much that I was sad that Pierre Boulle had no other books on audible to offer. He does an excellent job of verbalizing the main characters frustration with trying to prove his intellect to the apes without losing his mind.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nova, she's definitely not that bright but I do appreciate that she gets smarter... maybe not smart enough to graduate from the third grade but it's a start.

Which scene was your favorite?

The end... I have nothing left to say about it but it was quite the ending.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I didn't have to work and eat, I would have listened in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I hope more of his writing gets translated into english and become available on audible

Even if you're very familiar with the classic 1968 Charlton Heston movie, there are a few surprises and plot twists here that make this an interesting and exciting listen. The main character is Ulysse, a French journalist who journeys with two other intrepid astronauts to the distant star, Betelgeuse, where they, of course, come upon the Planet of the Apes, inhabited by primitive humans and technologically advanced chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The themes are somewhat different from those of the movie, but this is a well written and exciting book with a tightly-constructed plot, which also raises interesting questions about the ethics of animal research and social behaviors which can bring about the death of a civilization. Well narrated.

Excellent book! I seen the original movie that is based on this book. I really enjoyed it, so I've been wanting to read the novel ever since. I'm really glad I did because I enjoyed it much more than the movie adaptation.

Years ago I saw the planet of the apes movies and thought they were excellent science fiction movies. I stumbled onto this audio book and took a chance on it - so glad I did. I always thought that the original movie had an iconic ending, but honestly the ending of the book is even better. The writing is clever and the story line unique. The characters are interesting and well developed. The narrator does an outstanding job. It is just an excellent book, if you enjoy science fiction I would highly recommend this book. The ending is a complete surprise, very different from the movie.

I would strongly recommend this book if they have enjoyed any of the Planet of the Apes films. It's fascinating to see the actual source of so many entertaining films and TV series. It's similar, yet very different.

Have you listened to any of Greg Wise’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first Greg Wise performance I've listened to. He comes across as a very thoughtful and purposeful individual, which suits this book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The ORIGINAL story, on screen at last!

Any additional comments?

I do have one complaint about this audio book. I had read the book fairly recently before hearing the audio, and I was mildly irritated that in most places, they replaced the word 'ape' with 'monkey'. It's PLANET OF THE APES, not MONKEYS!

Aside from that issue, this was a very well done audio book, and I'm glad to have it in my collection.

Planet of the Apes is one of the biggest Science Fiction series there is in the movie world. Pierre Boulle, wrote one of the greats story's of all time.Lost on a Planet where humans can't speak and Apes run the world; Ulysse is now fighting for his life. All the major characters from the movie are in this book that started it all.If you liked the movies then you will love this book.

didn't turn it off for the first five chapters, loved reading it as a kid. Love this audio version. narrative is very good compared to some.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Mr Dan H N

London

5/14/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Totally unexpected and unlike the films"

I really liked this book, and the role reversal, it must have been considered a very odd book in its day. I really enjoyed the initial landing on this utopian planet & visualising the perfect Nova...and whoop! She snapped the pet monkey's neck - poor monkey! And soon forgotten! Although, I'm not sure if I'd have forgiven her for that! The ending was brilliant however the characters exit from the planet seemed like the author ran out of enthusiasm to complete the book and chose to summarise this complex task in a mere paragraph after it had occurred. Still, I really enjoyed this book and best of all it felt so different from the films I've seen.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

leemsey

2/27/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Of course the original but not the best"

I know we always bang on about books being better than movies but not in this case. Yes it was written years ago but that's no excuse. Give me Charlton Heston every time!

The narrator chooses to use bizarre American accents too. This is bad enough in music but best avoided in audiobooks.

Historical interest only to shut people up claiming that the book is always the best.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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